


The Afterlife is Full of Surprises

by Persiflager



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Episode Tag, Ghosts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-05-08 08:28:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14690288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflager/pseuds/Persiflager
Summary: Gerry sticks around in Emmerdale.





	The Afterlife is Full of Surprises

Being a ghost is alright. Gerry hasn’t figured out yet how to move things but he can walk through walls and see everything that goes on, so that’s brilliant. Well, it wasn’t brilliant at first, what with everyone crying and being sad about him being gone and Doug blaming himself, but at least it was nice to know he was missed. And they’re moving on with their lives now, which is good, and he’s getting to see what happens next, which is way better than he’d expected, so it’s all worked out really.

Gerry kept an eye on Lachlan for a bit but he seems to have stopped with the murdering for now, which is nice. Gerry would hold a grudge but there doesn’t seem much point. Maybe this baby will be the making of Lachlan. Maybe they’ll call it Gerry (that’d be a bit weird though, naming your son after the bloke you murdered). 

After that Gerry spent a while watching people having sex. Jimmy and Nicola get up to all sorts, things he’d only read about online, and for a pair of pensioners Eric and Faith are right goers. He tried watching Robert and Aaron once, just out of curiosity, but it felt too much like watching his parents so he left. 

Mostly he just hangs about the Mill. It’s the only place that’s ever really felt like home, and sometimes if he sits on one of the chairs long enough he can forget he’s not really there. Today Aaron had forgotten too and had called Gerry’s name before he remembered, and Gerry couldn’t bear to watch him cry again so he’s gone out for a walk round the village.

“Alright, love?” There’s a woman standing by the edge of the graveyard with ginger hair in a sharp bob and a fag in one hand. She’s around sixty but good-looking for her age, and she’s looking right at him.

Gerry looks around, just to check. “Are you talking to me?”

“Do you see any other gormless ghosts wandering around here?” She takes another puff. “You’ll have to come over here, unless you want to keep yelling.”

Gerry doesn’t have anything better to do, so he wanders over.

“Val Pollard,” she says grandly, holding out a hand.

“Gerry Roberts,” says Gerry, and he does a little bow before taking her hand and kissing it. It’s nice to touch someone again. He wants to keep holding her hand but that seems a bit forward. “Pleased to meet you. Are you dead and all?”

“Of course I am, you twit. I’ve been waiting for you for weeks. Did you not think to come and check out your grave?”

Gerry looks over in that direction and remembers his funeral. “Er, not, not really. Sorry.”

Val sniffs. “Oh well, you’re here now, I suppose.”

“Right.” Gerry sticks his hands in his pockets. “So, what happens now then?”

“You come and keep me company, that’s what happens. Do you know how long I’ve been stuck here on my own?”

Gerry grins. “Ah right. ‘Company’. I know what that means. A good-looking woman still in her prime, looking for a toyboy-”

“Cheeky perv!” says Val, smacking him. Then she winks. “Play your cards right, mind.” 

Gerry extends an arm. “Shall we?”

“Go on then.” Val takes his arm and they walk on into the graveyard, gossiping about the villagers as they go. It’s a warm summer’s evening and he can hear the distant sounds of people living their lives - arguments, laughter, TV, a blast of music as someone leaves the pub. The village looks pretty in the dusk, with the setting sun glowing orange against the sky, and Val’s well funny.

Gerry can think of worse places to be.

**Author's Note:**

> A quickly written coda to tonight's episode because I'm going to miss Gerry!


End file.
